Powerbrokers and lawmakers at AFL House are reportedly toying with the idea of altering the ambiguous medical-substitute rule ahead of the 2023 season.
While the law was initially enacted in an effort to maintain a competitive balance during fixtures following injury, clubs routinely worked through loopholes across the course of last season, effectively using the position for tactical shifts.
As reported by Tom Browne of 7News, the league is now leaning towards simply adding a fifth name to the interchange bench next year in an effort to circumnavigate clubs operating through loopholes.
“What I can tell you is that the AFL is looking closely at four on the bench and a tactical sub which is more fair, and clubs could activate that at their discretion,” Browne said.
The implementation of the medical-sub drew derision ahead of its implementation, with many predicting that coaches would simply use the extra bench space to inject fresh legs late in games.
It also left a foul scent in fans' nostrils, given players who were selected as the extra man would see a game recorded against their career tally, even if they failed to see any game time.
The AFL's legal counsel Andrew Dillon contended that conversations relating to the rule had been held behind closed doors.
“It got discussed at the commission meeting last week and we'd gone out to the clubs during the finals and asked them about their view on medical sub versus just a tactical sub versus five on the bench,” Dillon said.
“There's been some really interesting feedback on that.
“When we're weighing it up we'd be looking at if you went to five on the bench, what does happen if you do lose a player and how does that affect you versus a team that's got four players on the bench versus five?
“So, we've just got to look at the data that deals with that and we want to make it fair. There was a reason why we bought in the medi-sub, so we don't want to undo the good work that we did.”
